SHATTERED

twenty-four

alex

"alex... alex, bruh. wake the fuck up."

i groaned, and i buried my face into the pillow. "shut the fuck up," i complained as my head pounded. "let me sleep."

"dude," jessie shook me again. "get up."

i let out a muffled "fuck off," as i tried to go back to sleep.

"we've got to go to the studio today, remember?" they reminded me. "you have to get up."

i practically whined as i buried my face further into the pillow. "not right now. i'm hungover as shit, and my head is killing me," i mumbled.

i heard her sigh, and i felt her get off the bed. i sighed in relief as i relaxed and tried to go back to sleep.

my relief was short lived, as jessie came back only two minutes later. they roughly pushed me, so that i rolled over onto my back. i saw that she was holding a glass of water and down pain medicine.

"here. you have to get up," she exhaled. "you shouldn't have drank last night."

i rolled my eyes. "i don't need you to lecture me too."

she paused. "too?" they raised a brow.

"saylor tried to lecture me last night," i huffed as i slowly sat up. i took the water and the pills from them. "i'm sick of hearing it."

i thought back to last night. i thought back to saylor's words and her facial expression. she just looked so done.

"be a dick. see how much i care when you end up in the hospital or in a fucking grave."

i'll be fine. that's not going to happen.

"we're just looking after you, alex," jessie mumbled as her eyes searched mine for a moment.

"yeah, whatever," i drank the rest of the water.

"it's not a crime to let people care for you, you know?" she sighed. "you can let people in."

"can we not do this shit right now?" i huffed. "it's too early, and my head still hurts."

they pursed their lips. "fine. get up though. get ready."

i groaned. she sat up, and i soon followed her... then almost immediately toppled to the ground.

"shit, dude," she cussed. "are you okay?"

"i'm fine," i gritted out as i tried to push myself up off the ground. "i just need to eat, and then i-i'll be fine."

"when's the last time you ate?"

"yesterday morning."

"jesus christ, alex. you can't just not eat, especially before you go out and drink!" she bent down to help me up. "not eating is just gonna put you in the hospital. trust me, i would know."

my brows knitted together a bit at the last part. "jj..." i trailed off.

"i was, like, seventeen at the time. i promise, i'm fine now," she assured. "i don't need you to go do that shit though. it's not a fun experience."

i sat back on the bed, after reluctantly letting jessie help me up. they slightly narrowed their eyes at me. "i'ma order you some food, and then you're going to get ready. you just sit there until you can eat first."

"i'm going back to sleep then," i mumbled.

she sighed. "fine, but your ass better wake up when i tell you to, this time."

•

it's now later in the day. the four of us are all at the studio.

during the entire time that we've been here, saylor has yet to look at me, let alone talk to me. she hasn't acknowledged me at all.

what the fuck ever. i couldn't care less.

"jessie," i caught her attention. "do you think you could do something like this?" i asked, then mimicked the sound of her drums as i even acted it out.

we're working on a new song. we're still trying to come up with the actual music.

"yeah. this?" they asked before they played something on their drums.

my brows furrowed, and i shook my head. "no, like this," i imitated the sound again.

"yeah... that's what i just played," they deadpanned, then played it again. "that's literally what you're asking me to play."

"no, like this," saylor butt in and tried to imitate the sound as well. still, she didn't even glance at me.

jessie tried it again with a raised eyebrow. me and saylor both groaned as we shook our heads.

jessie narrowed her eyes. "i'm playing what you're asking me to play; i don't see the problem here."

miguel sighed as he put his bass down. he walked over to the drums, and he gestured for jessie to move from her stool. they did so with an eye roll, and miguel took their place. he attempted to play what me and saylor were saying... but it was very obvious that he wasn't a drum player at all.

"okay, how about you three talk about your music theory or whatever the fuck, and let me do all the banging," jessie said. she paused, and her eyes widened. "wait, that's not how that was supposed to— fuck, just let me play the drums! i know what the hell i'm doing!"

i sighed. "okay, well, try to come up with something for this," i said as i played the riff on my guitar.

she soon added the drums to it. i listened for a moment as i continued to play the riff. "yeah, that works. there you go," a grin formed on my lips. "that's perfect."

"should've just let me do my thing to begin with," they muttered.

i flipped them off. we continued to work on the song. eventually, we called it a day.

"i'm starving," saylor muttered. "y'all wanna go out to eat? jessie? miggy?" she specified to make it clear that it wasn't an open invite. i rolled my eyes.

i lit up a cigarette, and i took a drag from it. i walked by saylor, and i blew the smoke out into her face. still, she didn't look at me. she didn't even seem phased by it. my eyes narrowed slightly.

i walked out of the studio. on my way to the elevator, laura walked by, and she snatched the cigarette from between my lips.

"quit smoking in the building, alex," she reprimanded in a stern tone. i groaned lowly, and i let my head hit the wall as i waited for the elevator.

•

a/n ayooo

thoughts?

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is there anything that you would like to see?

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